TOPIC: In Tune With The Times

Folk-punk artist LILY GASKELL talks to Felicity Collier about how the changing political landscape impacts on her work
FROM early on in her career, when she played Rock against Racism nights, folk-punk artist Lily Gaskell's work has been infused with a socialist attitude to music-making.
Along with like-minded people who shared her views to this and other local issues, she developed "a sense of responsibility to stand up for people and share their message," she tells me.
Lily hails from Thatcher's hometown of Stamford and, if further proof were needed that the latter was responsible for millions of children's misery, the singer tells me that aged 13 she had to clean cobwebs off the iron lady's clothes during her work experience at the town's museum.
"There's no cleaning that amount of mess off though," she quips.
When she's not rollerskating, the professionally trained musician tours around co-operatively run venues such as Bradford's 1 in 12 club and Sumac in Nottingham.
She performs covers in pubs as a means of income but says that she has had to turn venues down in the past "if their political values are way off mine."
Music is in Lily's blood. She grew up in a musical house and both her parents — who still play — were in a band together.
“My dad got me my first electric guitar when I was 11,” she recalls.
“I couldn't play a single chord until I started going to an after-school group and it quickly became all-consuming.